Super Short Summary

The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould is a critique of 19th- and 20th-century theories claiming that human intelligence is a fixed, measurable quantity. Gould argues that biases influenced the scientific methods and conclusions of the time, leading to flawed approaches such as craniometry and IQ testing. He critiques these methods, highlighting their lack of evidence for race-based intellectual differences, and he discusses their detrimental social impacts. Sensitive topics include historical instances of racism and their influence on scientific theories.